Bitcoin Blog a1

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Shine Bright like a Dimon (or not)

Like normal, traditional finance people discredit Bitcoin, this week Jamie Dimon did as well.

Jamie Dimon is the CEO of JP Morgan. Dimon was also the CEO prior to the great recession/ financial crisis of 2008/2009. Here is the article.

One quote from the article is a little perplexing:

“The bank chief said he wouldn’t short bitcoin because there’s no telling how high it will go before it collapses. The best argument he’s heard, he said, is that it can be useful to people in places with no other options -- so long as the supply of coins doesn’t surge. [emphasis added]”

It seems Dimon misunderstands a very fundamental aspect of Bitcoin, the supply of coins is totally predictable. How Bitcoin comes into existence is literally written down and, in essence, set in stone. So attaching uncertainty to the supply of Bitcoin is pointless.

That being said, I think Dimon’s comparison to tulip bulbs does have some merit. Bitcoin prices have risen dramatically, and it's hard to really justify it. Sure, some speculators say it will keep going up and up. John McAfee, yes that McAfee, said some slightly crass things about it.

Then again, Dimon did say, “If you were in Venezuela or Ecuador or North Korea or a bunch of parts like that [how about Belize?], or if you were a drug dealer, a murderer, stuff like that [how about a drug kingpin?], you are better off doing it in bitcoin than U.S. dollars.”